Cut-resistant utility gloves are designed to protect the hand and fingers from sharp objects and blades often encountered in the food handling and other industries. The gloves are manufactured with a relatively thick weave of strong fibers which inhibit punctures and cuts.
As a result of the method and materials employed in their manufacturing, the cut-resistant gloves are expensive as compared to standard cotton, plastic, or other non-cut-resistant gloves. Therefore, commercial organizations with employees using the cut-resistant gloves have a strong interest in extending the useful life and minimizing the loss of the gloves.
In addition, the food-handling industry in particular requires a high level of cleanliness. Therefore, contact of the gloves with soiled surfaces should be minimized. The gloves require periodic washing after which air drying is preferred.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and efficient means to extend the useful life of and minimize the loss of cut-resistant gloves while providing a means to maintain the cleanliness of the gloves while not in use or while air drying after washing.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a new and improved cut-resistant glove is made from a specially woven fabric which resists cutting and tearing and which glove has a body and finger portions, preferably including an elastic cuff with a reinforced or bound edge. A hanging loop is attached to the bound cuff edge. The loop is preferably normally oriented to project into the cuff along its interior surface. The hanging loop is useful for suspending the glove on a hook in a predetermined location during periods of non-use and/or when drying.
Also attached to the bound edge of the cuff is a protective flap, advantageously a product label, which is superimposed upon the hanging loop. As with the hanging loop, the protective flap is preferably oriented to extend inwardly, along the interior surface of the cuff.
The protective flap serves to prevent the hanging loop from being accidentally snagged and possibly torn by a finger when donning the glove. In addition, the protective flap inhibits the hanging loop from extending outwardly from the cuff, to reduce the possibility that the hanging loop will unintentionally catch or snag exterior objects.
The protective flap and hanging loop can be attached to the bound cuff edge by sewing, gluing or other fastening means, either simultaneously or separately. The hanging hook useable with the glove can be of any type, advantageously a molded plastic hook with pressure-sensitive adhesive backing.